Annual Conroe Police memorial goes virtual in light of COVID-19

Members of law enforcement from various agencies are seen during a National Police Officers Memorial Ceremony at Heritage Plaza, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Conroe.

Members of law enforcement from various agencies are seen during a National Police Officers Memorial Ceremony at Heritage Plaza, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Conroe.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

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Members of law enforcement from various agencies are seen during a National Police Officers Memorial Ceremony at Heritage Plaza, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Conroe.

Members of law enforcement from various agencies are seen during a National Police Officers Memorial Ceremony at Heritage Plaza, Thursday, May 16, 2019, in Conroe.

Photo: Jason Fochtman, Houston Chronicle / Staff Photographer

Annual Conroe Police memorial goes virtual in light of COVID-19

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The Conroe Police Department is moving its annual police memorial from an outdoor public setting to an online format this week as large gatherings continue being discouraged in the face of the coronavirus outbreak.

Held every year since 1984, the Police Memorial Ceremony honors late Conroe Police Sgt. Ed Holcomb Jr. and other officers who have died in the line of duty. Holcomb fell victim to gunfire while answering a domestic disturbance call in September 1982.

“This event is very important to the Holcomb family, the Conroe Police Department family, and to the law enforcement community in general, and we wanted to ensure that we continued the tradition of memorializing these fallen heroes,” read a Conroe PD statement.

Usually held at downtown Conroe’s Heritage Place Park during National Police Memorial Week, this year Conroe PD filmed the event last week without a live audience to observe recommedations against large audiences. The taped event, which will include an address by Conroe PD Chief Jeff Christy and the participation of other agencies, will be broadcast Thursday on the department’s Facebook, facebook.com/conroepolice, and Twitter, twitter.com/conroepolice.